Resin molded fabric



9 R H O m 5 E o 4 vc w 7 fm Y n R m 2 r 1 l '1 l "1- I I ff H A SCHEELRESIN MOLDED FABRIC Filed Jan. 25, 1961 (w a u United States Patent3,045,319 RESIN MOLDED FABRIC Henry A. Scheel, Mystic, Conn, assignor toA. Wimpfheimer & Bro. Inc., Stonington, Conm, a corporation of New YorkFiled Jan. 25, 1961, Ser. No. 84,914 4 Claims. (Cl. 2880) This inventonrelates to fabrics of the type suited to be resin impregnated and moldedto form a structural member, insulation board, duct, or the like.

An object of the invention is to provide a fabric of the above typewhich is capable of being impregnated with a substantial amount ofimpregnant.

Another object is to provide an impregnated fabric which is resistant toheat and corrosion.

A further object is to provide an impregnated fabric which is readilyfabricated into various shapes and sizes.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent as the nature of theinvention is more fully disclosed.

In accordance with the invention a two-ply fabric is woven on a standarddouble shuttle loom to form a fabric having a pair of woven plies whichin certain areas are spaced apart and joined by tie yarns which extendbetween the two plies to form a filling. In other selected areas the twoplies are contiguous and are bound together by binder yarns. Theselatter areas may constitute spaced stripes in the warpwise direction orin the fillerwise direction or in both directions as desired. After thefabric has been thus woven in a sheet or strip it can be cut intovarious shapes along the stripe areas without exposing the tie areas andWithout ravelling. The fabric can be impregnated either before or aftersuch cutting or trimmmg.

To facilitate the penetration of the irnpregnant, particularly when longlengths of the fabric are to be impregnated, straight stuffer yarns canbe woven in spaced parallel groups along the tie areas. These stufleryarns can be made of wicking material for absorbing and wicking theimpregnant along the fabric. This feature is of particular importance ifthe fabric is made of non-pervio-us' yarns such as spun or continuousfilament glass yarns which do not in them-selves absorb the i-mpregnant.

The nature of the invention will be better understood from the followingdescription, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing in whicha specific embodiment has been shown for purposes of illustration.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a broken plan view of a fabric embodying the invention;

FIG. 2 is a warpwise section taken on the line 22 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a warpwise section taken on the line 3-3 of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 4 is partial perspective of a duct composed of the fabric of FIG.1.

Referring to the drawing more in detail the invention is shown asembodied in a fabric having a pair of plies 10, each composed of weftyarns 11 and warp yarns 12 interwoven in the usual manner. Tie warps 13are crosswoven between the two plies 10, as shown in FIG. 2. The tieyarns 13 are woven over alternate weft yarns 11 of the upper ply 10,then cross to the lower ply to pass under alternate weft yarns 11 of thelower ply and return in a repeated pattern. The tie yarns may of coursebe woven under and over three or more weft yarns 11 of each ply beforecrossing to the other ply if desired, in which case successive picks ofthe tie yarns will be offset by one or more weft yarns so as to providea uniform distribution through the fabric. The yarns 13 form a tiebetween the two outer plies in a manner well known in double shuttlevelvet weaving.

Binder Warp yarns 14 are woven in a manner similar to the tie yarns 13except that the binder warps are placed under a tension adapted to bringthe two plies 111 into juxtaposition so that no substantial space isformed between the two plies in the areas of the binder yarns 14. In theform shown the binder yarns :14 are disposed in stripes 15 which arespaced across the fabric to provide panels 16 therebetween containingthe tie yarns 13.

The stripes 15 form in effect a selvage along the edges of the fabricand a binding for the panels 16. When the fabric is out along thesestripes 15 the tie yarn areas 16 are enclosed thereby and the edges ofthe fabric do not tend to fray or ravel.

If desired, transverse stripes corresponding to the warpwise stripes 15can be woven in the fabric by varying the tension of the tie warp 13 atthe selected areas so that the outer plies 10 are pulled together atsuch areas. In this way provision can be made for cutting the fabrictransversely at various intervals.

A plurality of stuifer yarns 17 are shown as laid in spaced parallelrelationship between selected ,tie yarns 13. The stuffer yarns are laidin channels where the tie yarns 13 are omitted and are not bound intothe fabric.

The fabric, either before or after cutting to size is impregnated withan impregnating resin such as a phenolic condensation resin or an epoxyresin or other resin having thermosetting properties, or by athermoplastic type resin such as polyethylene or a vinyl resin dependingupon the end use to which the fabric is to be put. In the case of athermosetting resin the impregnated fabric can be dried but not cured asa preliminary step after which it can be molded to shape and cured toform a rigid product which cannot again be softened by heat. Ifthermoplastic resins are used the fabric will be molded to form prior tocuring but can be resoftened by heat.

For a structural unit or for a duct which is moldable to a complex formand is resistant to moderately high temperatures and to corrosion thefabric is preferably made of a spun glass yarn or the like throughoutwith the exception of the stufier yarns 17 which are composed of awicking or absorptive material such as cotton. These stufier yarns thusaid the penetration of the impregnant. These yarns may extend either warpwise or weft-wise ac cording to the product desired.

As an example of one type of end product a square duct 20 is shown inFIG. 4. This duct is formed by bending the fabric along the stripes 15to form the corners with the two side edges overlapping and bondedtogether by the cured resin. The conduit must be shaped before the finalheat curing of the resin.

Various other adaptations and uses of the invention will be apparent toa person skilled in the art.

What is claimed is:

1. A two-ply fabric comprising a pair of plies of woven fabric, each ofsaid plies having interwoven filler yarns and warp yarns, said plies incertain areas being spaced apart and having tie yarns woven into andextending between the plies and in other areas being in substantialcontact and having binder yarns extending between the plies to bind thesame together, said tie yarns being disposed to leave a straight openchannel extending entirely through the tie yarn areas and stuifermaterial having wicking characteristics, disposed in and extending alongsaid channels, said stuiier material being free from said tie yarns.

2. A two-ply fabric as set forth in claim 1 which is impregnated with athermosetting resin, said resin being in the heat set and cured state,said impregnated fabric constituting a rigid product.

3. A two-ply fabric as set forth in claim 1 in which said stufliermaterial constitutes yarns.

4. A resin impregnated fabric element comprising a 0 pair of plies ofwoven fabric, each of said plies having interwoven filler yarns and Warpyarns, said plies in certain areas being spaced apart and having tieyarns woven into and extend-ingbetween the plies, said plies in otherareas being in substantial contact and having binder yarns extendingbetween the plies to bind the same together, said other areasconstituting warpwise stripes extending in spaced parallel relationshipin a warpwise direction along said fabric, said tie yarn areasconstituting panels between adjacent warpwise stripes, said tie yarnsbeing disposed to leave straight open channels extending entirelythrough the tie areas, and wicking material dis- (3. posed in andextending along said channels, said fabric the space between said pliesin the tie yarn areas and said wicking material being impregnated with athermosetting resin, said fabric being folded along said stripes 5 andsaid resin being in the heat set and cured state.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 102,167,350 Eaton July 25, 1939 2,502,101 Morgan et al. Mar. 28, 19502,948,950 Finger et al. Aug. 16, 1960

